Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peoples'Friendship University of Russia
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
RUDN University students have created a digital solution to modernize the Blood Service. The DonorConnect project aims to address two key issues: a critical donor shortage and medical staff overburdened with routine work. The project has already received support from the RUDN.VC accelerator and has entered the pilot testing phase.
Project team:
Sergey Gritsko – Project Manager, first-year undergraduate student at the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences; Arseniy Ivanov – Fullstack Team Lead, first-year undergraduate student at the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences; Arseniy Nagornyak – Frontend Developer, first-year undergraduate student at the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences; Dmitry Tartakovsky – Bot Developer, second-year undergraduate student at the Higher School of Management.
The essence of the problem
In Russia, there are only 14 blood donors per 1,000 people, which is almost three times lower than the World Health Organization standard of at least 40 donors. This shortage is particularly acute in regions where blood centers lack a constant and predictable flow of donors, unlike the major federal centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which generally meet basic needs. The fragility of the system is particularly evident in cases of rare blood phenotypes and in emergency situations when rapid mobilization is required.
"Blood centers lack convenient tools to retain donors. Medical staff spend a lot of time persuading people to come back. If a person had a bad experience after their first donation (long wait times, uninformed answers, refusal), they are unlikely to return. The main reason is the lack of personal gratitude and information about how their blood helped. Furthermore, doctors and nurses are forced to spend up to 40% of their work time on tasks not directly related to medicine. The registration and feedback process is completely manual; donors are forced to call to register, which creates a bottleneck (while the operator is talking to one donor, others cannot get through). During a severe shortage of rare blood types, medical staff spend hours calling the right donors. This administrative burden distracts highly qualified staff from their primary duties—medical examinations and consultations," noted Sergey Gritsko.
Digital approach and gamification
The project team proposed an effective solution—a dual digital approach. DonorConnect offers more than just a website for scheduling, but a fully-fledged intelligent platform with dual functionality. A user-friendly web app has been developed for donors, allowing them to schedule a blood donation online 24/7, receive personalized preparation reminders, and, most importantly, learn how their blood has helped a specific patient. Such an emotional response, according to international experience, increases the likelihood of repeat donations by 15-25%. To further strengthen long-term user motivation, gamification elements are already built into the platform's design and are planned for implementation in future stages: a level system, digital badges, and rewards will transform donation into an engaging and regular process.
For the Blood Service, the system is useful as an automation tool that generates lists of registered donors, sends mass notifications in case of urgent blood needs, and handles all routine communications (for example, sending donors reminders to adhere to a strict diet and preparation rules 2-3 days before their appointment). This frees up to 30% of medical staff time for direct clinical work.
A mission based on personal experience
Project manager Sergey Gritsko is an active donor himself. His personal involvement shaped DonorConnect's philosophy.
"This isn't just a technological or student project. It's a mission. I know firsthand how important every visit is and how deeply a donor needs an emotional connection with the results of their good deed. Therefore, for us, DonorConnect is a technology that connects people, a bridge between donor and doctor. Every day, dozens of stories are told. The story of a donor who overcame their fear. The story of blood being sent to a department. The story of a patient whose life continues thanks to this shared effort. Our project can solve major, important problems for the country, driven by a personal conviction in its social significance," noted Sergey Gritsko.
The team plans to attract targeted grant funding to scale the platform and implement it in Blood Centers across the country, transforming blood donation into a convenient, modern, and socially significant process.
First successes
The project team has currently developed the first working version of the product (MVP). It includes key modules required for immediate launch: an online registration form for donors, automatic shift roster generation for medical staff, and a mechanism for personalized diet reminders and emergency notifications. The system (MVP) is ready for immediate use for pilot testing in real-world conditions. This will allow students to objectively assess the system's potential to improve key donation metrics (donor retention and staff efficiency). Specifically, the team will be able to conduct comparative data analysis (A/B testing) at the pilot Blood Center, comparing the results of the automated process with historical manual management metrics to accurately verify the predicted metrics (a 15-20% increase in donor loyalty and a 20-30% reduction in administrative workload).
"We've already conducted in-depth interviews with representatives of 12 Blood Center organizations. As a result, we not only gathered valuable information for further refinement of the project but also achieved agreement in principle: three organizations expressed their willingness to pilot test our system, subject to obtaining the necessary permission from the Ministry of Health," added Sergey Gritsko.
The RUDN.VC accelerator provided key assistance to the students in developing the project.
"He provided us with much-needed expert and practical assistance. The accelerator's experts not only helped us create a sustainable financial model but also identified specific sources of targeted funding, primarily grants, and the mechanisms for attracting them. Furthermore, we were able to clearly structure the project's development stages, understand what the first version of the product (MVP) should include, and identify key, measurable metrics by which we will evaluate our success. One of the most valuable events was our interaction with an experienced lawyer, who explained in detail the process of registering a legal entity and, especially important for the medical field, provided comprehensive advice on the processing and protection of donors' personal data in accordance with Russian law. The accelerator showed us how to solve a social problem using technology and business while complying with all legal requirements," emphasized Sergey Gritsko.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.